Safety-holder for packages.



No. 736,779. PATENTED AUG. 18, 1903.

E. M. REED. SAFETY HOLDER FOR PACKAGES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10, 1903.

NO MODEL.

unum WASHINGTON o r Bio. 736,779.

UNITED STATES Patented August 18, 1903.

ELWOOD M. REED, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

SAFETY-HOLDER FOR PACKAGES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 736,779, dated August 18, 1903.

Application filed January 10, 1903. Serial No. 138,568- (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, ELwooD M. REED, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rochester, in the county of. Monroe and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Safety-Holders for Packages, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a safety-holder for packages; and the obj eet of the invention .is to provide a light and simple article of this character which adds practically nothing to the bulk of the package to which it is attached and which is adapted to be connected with a garment, it including a holder so constructed as to positively secure a package in place, so that when such package is retained by the holder in a pocket it cannot be accidently lost, and although the article may be employed for various purposes it is of especial utility as a means for retaining money, it being so formed that it will hold with equal facility packages of small or comparatively large sizes.

The improved device includes as one of its features a package-holder consisting of two slidingly-connected members each having a fixed jaw, the 'j aws being arranged to cooperate in gripping a package, means being provided to positively lock the jaws in their effective positions, and the holder is adapted to be connected with a garment by means of a flexible connector,as a chain. Various means may be provided for looking the jaws in their working positions, one convenient and effective form for this purpose being hereinafter described and being key-operated and of such a nature that when force is applied to open the jaws without the key they are more firmly locked together.

The invention in one simple embodiment thereof is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved device. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section of the holder per se. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing a modified locking means for the jaws.

Like characters refer to like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

The improved article includes in its construction a holder combined with a flexible connection of some suit-able kind, one convenient kind of which will be hereinafter more particularly described, and the holder selected for illustration for the purpose of indicating the nature of the invention will now be described in detail. Said holder includes two members, (denoted, respectively, by 5 and 6,) which are slidably connected. The member o is shown as having at what might be considered the outer end the fixed jaw 7 ex tending therefrom, while a loop 8 extends in the opposite direction from the said member 6 and embraces the member 5. To the memher 6, although this is not essential, a flexible connector of some suitable kind is joined, and said connector is illustrated as consisting of a chain 9 of asuitable length, provided at or near the end thereof opposite that united to the member 6 with means for detachably connecting the same with a' garment. The means shown consists of a safety-pin 10,which is adapted to be attached to the inside of the pocket of the garment. For example, it may be a trousers-pocket, it being understood from this that the article as a whole is adapted to be inclosed by such pocket in which the package is contained.

A stirrup is shown at 11, its parallel side cheeks being united in some suitable way to the side faces of the member 5, said stirrup embracing the member 6 and constituting with the loop hereinbefore described a simple means for uniting the two members 5 and 6 for sliding motion.

Upon the outer end of the member 5 is a jaw 12, which cooperates with the jaw 7 in gripping a package, and in order that a firm purchase may be had upon the package the working face of what might be considered the inner jaw 7 is provided with a serrated or roughened portion 13. It will be understood that the jaws 7 and 12 are movable toward and from each other, they being so related that they are adapted to firmly hold packages of very reduced thickness, even as thin as a single bank-note or bill. Means are provided for positively locking the jaws so that they cannot open accidentally or be opened by unauthorizedpersons, the lockin g means being key-operated, and, as will be hereinafter described, the key is carried by the connector 9, so that it cannot be lost.

Upon the inner face of the jaw is a wedge 5 shaped pocket or recess 14, adapted to receive the ball 15, which is positively pressed again st the wedge or inclined face of the pocket and the adjacent face of the member 6 by a coiled push-spring 16, seated in said pocket and :0 bearing against the outer wall of said pocket,

it being understood from this that the jaws 7 and 12 are normally locked. By forcing the ball 15 into the deep portion of the pocket the jaws are released and can be freely sep- I 5 arated or moved away from each other for the purpose of securing or freeing a package between the same. By virtue of the locking means just described when pressure is applied to the jaws without using a key, as

will be hereinafter described, the ball 15 is caused to ride into the shallow portion of the pocket 14 and to bind against the inclined face thereof and the adjacent and cooperating face of the member 6, so that said jaws cannot be opened. The key employed is adapted to thrust or force the ball into the deep portion of the pocket, so that the jaws can be freely opened or separated when the same is brought into use. When the ball is actuated by the key, the spring 16 is put under compression, so that when said key is removed the spring instantly returns the ball to its initial and effective position.

The cheeks or side pieces of the stirrup 11 gs have elongated slots 17 in registration with each other, although it is not essential to slot both of these cheeks, but by doing so the key hereinafter described can be introduced into either slot. The key is denoted by 18,

and it is connected, by means of a ring 19 or in some other convenient way, to the chain 9 in proximity to the holder hereinbefore described. The working or outer end of the key is pointed or beveled, as at 19, and just back of the pointed or beveled end are oppositelydisposed shoulders 21, which prevent the entrance of the key too far into the slot 17. By entering the beveled end of the key into one of the slots 17, which, it will be seen, registers with the wedge-shaped portion of the pocket 14, one or the other beveled faces of said key will engage the circumference of the ball 15, and the other face bearing against the end of the slot 17 the key as it is introduced will 5 5 force the ball outwardly or into the deep portion of the pocket 14, so that the jaw can be freely opened.

The mode of inserting a package between the jaws is as follows: The key is first inserted in order to release the jaws, after which the member 6 is held in one hand and the member 5 drawn outward in order to separate the jaws so that a package can be placed between the same. When the package is embraced,

the outer jaw 12 will be moved toward the companion jaw and placed firmly against the package, where it is automatically locked by other they cannot be opened without the use of the key or by forcing the ball 15 into the deep portion of the wedge shaped recess. The upper or inner face of the member 6 has a longitudinal groove in which the ball 15 travels as the jaws are opened and closed.

The invention is not limited to the exact construction hereinbefore described, for many variations may be adopted within the scope of the claims. In fact, in some cases the key may be dispensed with, for I have shown in Fig. 4 a locking means for securing the jaws in their working positions, which locking means may be opened by means other than said key. Referring to said Fig. 4, the slidingly-connected members 5 and 6 are provided with jaws '7 and 12, these parts being constructed like the ones hereinbefore specifically described, except that the member 5 has not a wedge-shaped pocket. The parts 5 and 6 are united by a stirrup 20, the cheeks of which are fastened by rivets or in some other suitable way tothe part 5. In the cross-piece of the stirrup is a wedge-shaped pocket or recess 23, into the outer open end of which a screw 22 is tapped,

said screw constituting a stop for the coiled spring 24, the opposite end of which engages the ball 25 to normally hold said ball in the shallow portion of the pocket and against the wedge face of the latter and the adjacent straight face of the cooperating member 6. It will be understood that when the ball is in the shallow portion of the pocket the jaws will be locked. By entering an instrument of some suitable kind into the open inner end of the pocket or recess 23 and engaging the ball and forcing said ball outward and into the deep portion of the pocket the parts 5 and 6 are free to be slid inward or outward with respect to each other, so that the fixed jaws upon the same can be moved in corresponding directions. The outer jaw 12 in each case ICC is resilient or consists of a spring, and when the jaws are open it will be seen that the free end of said resilient jaw 12 converges toward the corresponding end of the other jaw '7, which is at a'right angle to the member carrying the same. When, however, the jaw 7 is moved toward its companion when a package is placed between the same and when outward stress is applied to said jaw 12, the latter being springy will be moved to a position substantially at right angles to the member 5 in order to more firmly hold the package.

It is not essential that the key 18, when the same is provided, should be united to the connector 9.

Having described the invention, what I claim is- 1. A device of the class specified including a pair of slidingly-connected members, each having a fixed jaw, said jaws cooperating to grip an object, one of said members having a wedge-shaped pocket, a ball in said wedgeshaped pocket arranged to engage the wedge faces thereof and the adjacent faces of the cooperating member, and means for normally holding the ball in the shallow portion of the wedge-shaped pocket.

2. A device of the class specified including a pair of slidingly-connected members, each having a fixed jaw, said jaws cooperating to grip a package, one of said members having a wedge-shaped pocket, and a ball in the pocket adapted to engage the Wedge face thereof and the adjacent face of the cooperating member, and a spring bearing against the ball and serving to hold the same in the shallow portion of the pocket.

3. A device of the class specified including a pair of members, each having a fixed jaw, said jaws cooperating to grip an object, a stirrup connected to one of said members and embracing the other member to thereby slidingly connect the same, said stirrup having a key-slot, and key-operated means inclosed by the stirrup, for locking the jaws in their work ing positions.

4. A device of the class specified including a pair of members, each having a fixed jaw, said jaws cooperating to grip an object a stirrup connected with one member and embracing the other to thereby slidingly con 30 nect the same and having a key-slot, a ball, one of the said members having a wedge shaped pocket to receive said ball, and a spring in the pocket arranged to bear against the ball and to hold it in the shallow portion 35 of the recess.

5. A device of the class specified including a pair of members and a stirrup connecting them for sliding movement, one of said parts having a wedge face, a ball arranged to en- 0 gage said wedge face and the adjacent face of a cooperating part, and jaws connected with said pair of members.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit- 45 nesses.

- ELWOOD M. REED.

Witnesses:

GEO. Y. WEBs'rER, ADDIE E. BOURNE. 

